Final answer:
In the 1950s, marketing strategies emphasized the creation of customer desire through selling visions of what products could do for consumers, moving beyond simple functionality. This change coincided with the rise of professional business degree programs in universities and a greater willingness among outside investors to fund companies with promising business strategies.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1950, marketing strategies shifted as business managers realized that merely being producers or sellers was no longer sufficient. Rather than selling products solely on their functionality, advertisers learned to sell a vision of what the product could do for the consumer. This vision included the aspirations and desires that the product might fulfill, thus creating a demand that went beyond just the physical attributes of the product itself.
Education in marketing evolved during this time as well. Universities, taking note of the rise of marketing significance, began to create professional business degree programs. These programs were designed to meet both the needs of students and the political demands of business leaders and conservative lawmakers who started to challenge the value of liberal arts degrees.
With information becoming more widely available about a company's products, revenue, costs, and profits, the need to know business managers personally diminished. As a result, outside investors such as bondholders and shareholders felt more comfortable providing financial capital to a firm, thereby fueling its growth and the proliferation of its marketing strategies.